What Is Castlevania Ultimate? A Miserable Pile Of Content

OK, it's actually quite a nice pile of content, but I really wanted to make the Symphony of the Night opening reference. Now then, that out of the way, we have a rather surprisingly unrelated game to talk about. Castlevania: Lords of Shadow - Ultimate Edition is actually a compilation of the recent Hideo-Kojima-tinged, MercurySteam-developed series pseudo-reboot, spanning Lords of Shadow and two add-on chapters. You'll remember, of course, that Cara whiffed icy vampire blood percolating in Steam's vapors back in March, but now it's official. Scatter into a flock of bats and scream past the break for a trailer.

Or, well, it's really more like two-and-a-half trailers gorilla glued together, but I suppose that's kind of the point. Both of these heavy hitting Goth of War vampire slappers might've taken their time coming to PC, but we certainly won't be at a lack for things to do once they arrive. Here's the basics:

"The Ultimate Edition offers the original full game plus add-on content: Reverie and Resurrection. It also boasts enhanced 1080p HD graphics, runs at a solid 60 frames per second via recommended spec, and offers trophy integration through Steam with Cloud saving."

Er, trophies? Do they mean achievements? Huh. Anyway, Reverie and Resurrection are additional story chapters for the first Lords of Shadow. So this is a pretty standard "Ultimate" package, but I certainly can't knock it.

I haven't actually played LoS, but I've heard pretty good things about it. As a big fan of Symphony-style Castlevanias I initially bristled at this monster mashes' focus on QTE-laden action, but I'm intrigued by talk of interesting mechanics and a completely bonkers, series-resetting plot twist.

The Ultimate Edition is coming to Steam on August 27th. Are you planning to whip it, whip it good?